The present invention relates to the automotive arts, and more particularly to a headlamp construction and the means for adjusting the position of an articulated headlamp assembly. More specifically, there is provided what is believed to be a novel overall combination of components for a headlamp assembly of the type including a pivotally mounted component, an adjusting mechanism and ball and socket connecting means for joining the adjusting mechanism to the pivotally mounted component, as well as a novel adjusting mechanism construction.
With modern day automobiles, most of the headlamps are what is termed in the art as a composite headlamp construction. The composite headlamps generally employ single housings which contain both the high and low beams, as opposed to the older seal beam arrangements wherein the high and low beam were separate components. In this regard, two general types or modes of composite construction are employed. The first is where a reflection mirror or component is moved with respect to a housing and a lamp unit, the other where the entire lamp unit is pivoted with respect to the autobody.
An automobile headlamp must be adjusted both at initial assembly and also during the service life of the vehicle so that the headlamp beam is properly aimed and also so it can be adjusted subsequent to accidents or after prolonged periods of use wherein vibration and other factors may tend to move the headlamp out of the desired position. There are numerous prior art adjusting mechanisms for headlamps, and in this regard specific attention is directed to the following United States Patents: U.S. Pat. No 4,674,018, Ryder et al., dated Jun. 16, 1987; U.S. Pat. No 4,757,429, Ryder et al., dated Jul. 12, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,067, Ryder et al., dated Jan. 31, 1969; U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,219, Lisak, dated Jan. 9, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,945, Ryder et al., dated Jul. 10, 1990 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,739, Ryder et al., dated Dec. 15, 1987, all of which are owned in part by the present Applicant. Attention is also invited to U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,725, Saijo et al., dated Aug. 25, 1987, which patents also disclose a prior art headlamp adjusting assembly.
The prior art arrangements and adjuster mechanisms are comprised of a substantial number of assembled components. More specifically, these prior art arrangements include a housing with at least a pair of gear members disposed therein, an adjusting screw or member, generally in the form of a screw threaded member extending from the housing and having its distal end operatively coupled with a pivotally mounted headlamp component, as well as an input or drive member also coupled to one of the gear members. In this regard, the input or drive member is rotated to operate the gears, with the gears and the other components of the adjusting mechanism utilized to transform the rotary motion of the drive member into a linear motion of the adjusting screw.
Further, with the prior art designs now in use, of the type as illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,674,018 and 4,689,725 identified above, it will be noted that the adjusting screw or member which is engaged with the articulated headlamp component has a ball component of a ball-and-socket type connection on the end thereof. Correspondingly, the headlamp must be provided with some form of socket arrangement in which the ball is engaged in order to attain an articulated, movable connection between the respective components. As will be discussed more fully hereafter, this prior art design necessitated the employment of bracket members to mount the socket members to the headlamp housing. With the present invention, the aforesaid bracket members are no longer needed.
The geared headlamp adjusting mechanisms of the prior art design, while satisfactory in their function, are somewhat expensive due to the numerous components involved and the cost of assembly. Further, the method of interconnecting the adjusting member with the headlamp assembly has also proven troublesome in that assembly is time consuming and normally requires the employment of some form of metal bracket or housing on the headlamp to which the socket components are mounted. In this regard, reference is had to FIG. 8 of the drawings which illustrate the prior art construction in this regard, and which will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter. A comparison of the arrangement of FIG. 8 with the arrangement of the present invention in FIG. 9 dramatically illustrates the reduction in parts or components and, obviously, assembly time, achieved with the present invention. As such, it will be seen that the improved, simplified adjuster of the present invention and the novel arrangement of the overall assembly of components not only provides a simpler more economical arrangement, but also an arrangement which affords additional space within the area immediately behind the headlamp.
The present invention thus in effect provides multiple improvements over the prior art. Initially, with regard to the adjuster mechanism, per se, as will be discussed with respect to FIGS. 1-7 of the drawings, the adjuster mechanism includes a minimum number of components. Basically this adjuster mechanism includes only a housing, a scroll member and a transitory rack member. This should be compared to the multiple or numerous components of the prior art designs illustrated in the patents identified and discussed above. Correspondingly, the second aspect of the present invention, namely, the mounting of the socket construction to the end of the adjusting member, whether in the form of a transitory rack or a linearly movable adjusting screw, as employed in the prior art, affords an overall construction which results in a reduction of parts and ease of assembly, and thus lower overall cost. An additional feature of the adjusting mechanism of the present invention, is that the manner of engagement between the scroll member and the rack is such that the unit tends to be self-cleaning and upon operation will displace any dirt, debris or road grim which may accumulate between the teeth on the rack. Further, the components of the novel adjuster mechanism may all be fabricated from a thermoplastic resin material.